Two Lake County inmates die in 24-hour period

Two inmates at the Lake County Adult Detention Facility died over a 24-hour period in separate and unrelated incidents, according to a release from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

There are currently two separate investigations ongoing into the incidents, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The deaths were the first two at the jail this year, Chief Deputy Frank Leonbruno said.

On Dec. 21 at 5:25 p.m., a 25-year-old male inmate was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell by a corrections officer during an observation check. Responding officers began CPR and Painesville Fire and Rescue called in. Upon the arrival, paramedics took over CPR and transported the inmate to Tri-Point Hospital, where the inmate was pronounced dead.

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The Lake County Coroner examined the inmate and his body has been transferred to the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the cause of death, according to the news release.

The Sheriff’s Office has not released the name of the inmate. The cause of death is still currently unknown, but no foul play was indicated from the preliminary investigation according to the release.

At 5:30 a.m. Dec. 22, corrections officers were summoned by female inmates who reported that one of the female inmates was unresponsive. While responding to the 25-year-old inmate, officers also found a 30-year-old female inmate in the same housing area unresponsive. Officers administered Naloxone, also known as Narcan, which is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The 30-year-old inmate was transported to Tri-Point for treatment.

The Coroner pronounced the 25-year-old female dead at the jail facility. The body was transferred to the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office for examination. Her name was also not released.

According to the release, one of the female inmates in that housing area was released from jail Dec. 21 on a medical furlough to see her doctors. Initial statements from inmates housed in that area indicate the female inmate returned to jail and had secreted some form of opioid, probably heroin, in her body cavity.

The initial investigation indicates she removed the drugs from a body cavity and gave them to the two female inmates.

“If this did occur then the women, who have been incarcerated for over two months and have not been using heroin, could have overdosed on an opioid,” the release read. “If an opioid user goes without the drug for a period of time then their body no longer has the tolerance for the dose they were accustomed to taking prior to incarceration.”

Officers are prohibited from conducting body cavity searches on inmates. Such searches can only be done based on probable cause and a search authorized by a court order. A regular search was done on the female inmate who returned from her furlough according to the release.

It is believed that the two female inmates may have taken an opioid prior to the 11 p.m. lockdown. From 11 p.m. until 5:30 a.m., inmates are locked inside of their cells. Officers make rounds to check on safety every 30 minutes, however they do not wake up inmates from sleep during the tours. Cells are equipped with intercom systems, but neither inmate called the tower office to indicate that they were in any type of distress. Both inmates were found in their beds as if they were asleep.

Leonbruno said they will look at various aspects of the jail’s policies once the investigation is completed, but said he won’t know specifically what they’ll look at until after the investigation.